When I was younger, I read all the great food memoirs, by M.F.K. Fisher and Laurie Colwin and Julia Child and Nicolas Freeling and Ruth Reichl, and felt flooded with a sense of comfort and safety.

'Blue Plate Special' is the autobiography of my first half-century of life, with food as the subject.

Food is not a means toward resolution. It can't cure heartbreak or solve untenable dilemmas.

My 50th birthday approaching felt like a big milestone to me. I've lived half a century. If I write about food and use my life as a fulcrum to move the story along, maybe I've lived long enough to fashion a narrative that has a happy ending.

When (members of the city's vehicle committee) took into account officer and prisoner safety, officer and prisoner comfort, equipment storage and transportation needs, assistance to citizens, as well as the diverse driving demands we are confronted with, the Tahoe seemed like a viable option.

I realized that I've had a really rocky relationship with food - it has not been a gauzy, beautiful summer of ripe melons and perfectly buttered toast.